Edinburgh ‘terrorist gun attack’ plot was thwarted by ‘British FBI’, reveals new crime report

Police thwarted a teenager suspected of plotting a terrorist gun attack in Edinburgh last year, it has emerged.

Brief details of the alleged incident, which would have been the first such terror strike in Scotland since the Glasgow Airport attack in 2007, have been revealed in a report from the National Crime Agency (NCA).

In a document presented to the Scottish Police Authority, the NCA said a counter terrorism investigation titled Operation Ferulic was led by Police Scotland and centred on "the apparent preparation for a firearms attack in the Edinburgh area".

A major multi-agency police operation was focused on the “apparent preparation” for an attack involving firearms in Edinburgh.

The report only provides limited information on the investigation – but it does say forensic clinical psychologists, behavioural investigative and interview advisors were involved.

The motives for the apparent planned attack are not disclosed in the report. Police Scotland has since confirmed that a 16-year-old was arrested and charged with an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 last year.

Several specialists from the NCA's Major Crime Investigative Support unit were drafted in to assist the inquiry.

Forensic clinical psychologists, behavioural investigative advisors and interview advisors were involved in assessing and managing risk and interview preparation.

A Police Scotland spokesperson told the Scottish Sun: “On 10 August, 2023, a 16-year-old youth was arrested and charged in connection with an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 and a breach of the peace.

“They appeared at Livingston Sheriff Court on 27 October 2023.”

Often referred to as “the British FBI”, the NCA is the UK's lead agency against organised crime including human, weapon and drug trafficking, and cybercrime and economic crime.

Elsewhere, the NCA’s report to the authority notes that it was involved in 276 investigations in 2023/24, which disrupted serious and organised crime in Scotland – a 10 per cent increase on the previous year. Some 29 of those investigations were classed as ‘major impact’

Between last October and March, the NCA’s major crime investigative support unit provided advice and support to Police Scotland on 39 cases, and deployed officers on 46 occasions. The cases included murder, rape, suspicious or unexplained deaths, and missing persons.